Bachelet announces “energy autonomy” in next two years

Chile will become in the next two years energy “autonomous”, cutting its current Argentine dependency and cooling a “national security”, announced President Michelle Bachelet.
The plan includes several ambitious projects which will eliminate the vulnerability of the Chilean economy and put an end to virtually the only bargaining chips neighboring countries such as Argentina and Bolivia appeal to in dealings with Santiago.

The plan to cut Argentine dependency is based on a re-gasification plant of liquid gas being built by British Gas in a port city in the north of the country at a cost of 350 million US dollars. The plant should be operational by 2008 and together with other private initiatives and the development of gas deposits in Magallanes Region, in the extreme south, should help grant the country more autonomy.
Merco Press